FRISCO, Texas – FC Dallas currently sit within striking distance of a share of the Supporters’ Shield lead, and they have climbed back into contention without one thing so often attributed to team success.
Lineup consistency.
Dating back to an Aug. 2 loss to the Chicago Fire, FCD coach Oscar Pareja has made at least two changes to his starting XI in every game from week to week, and nobody has been off-limits. Even midfielder Fabian Castillo, recently named the No. 1 player on MLSSoccer.com’s 24 under 24 list, started a game on the bench by coach's decision.
Moving forward, it poses the question: How important is consistency in the starting XI, or even the gameday 18?
“I think any team that’s going to be at the top of the league needs a consistent lineup,” midfielder and defender Ryan Hollingshead told MLSSoccer.com. “I don’t know how much of it is the coaches changing it up vs. how much of it is us not having the people.”
Dallas have experienced a lot of turmoil on their roster in this stretch, ranging from national team call-ups for Castillo, Blas Perez and Tesho Akindele to injuries to midfielders Mauro Diaz and Victor Ulloa.
But Pareja has consistently shaken things up over the last two months even when some players are healthy and available. It seems to have brought both benefit and harm, as FCD are 3-3 over the stretch.
Hollingshead said he’s been used to bouncing around the field ever since his time at UCLA. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate and seek consistency, however.
“You wish you had a set spot or at some point had locked down a spot, like this is your spot no matter what,” Hollingshead said. “But I think they’re even deciding still where the best place to play me or the best position, best time, best matchups and stuff. It’s hard for me to get in a rhythm when I don’t even think they kind of know. But that’s kind of the player I am. That’s the player I want to be.”
Other players’ roles have shifted as well. Akindele and Michael Barrios have switched back and forth between striker winger spots, in addition to a variety of players bouncing around between the midfield and back line.
“El Profe” is not concerned with the lack of consistency, though. In fact, he prefers the unpredictability in his line-up.
“I like to have that versatility and flexibility within the group, and I think we’ve developed that in a few players already,” Pareja said. “It’s good. I think it’s healthy.”
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One advantage of the weekly lineup tinkering is the unpredictability it presents to the opposition. FCD have shifted between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2 throughout most of the season, but in last week’s loss to Sporting Kansas City, they rolled out a 5-2-1-2 for the first time in 2015.
“I’m sure teams are watching film from the week before and thinking that that’s going to be the lineup we go with, and then we come out with three different guys in the starting XI,” Hollingshead said. “So it’s hard for them to really get a grasp on who’s going to be out there.”
In the current 3-3 stretch, Dallas have even switched at least three players out of their starting XI five times, picking up all three wins of the stretch when making large adjustments.
Time will tell if Pareja's strategy translates to a deep postseason run. But with six games left in the regular season, Hollingshead still hopes the team finds some element of consistency down the stretch.
“That’s really what it takes for a top team to win a league or a championship,” he said.
